May Highlights

	Alicja Halika, Cubist Still Life 1915, Oil on Canvas. From the Collection of Tom Podl.

The Smart Museum of Art
The Colors of Identity: Polish Art at Home and Abroad, 1890 - 1939
Thursday, May 25 through Sunday, Sept. 17
5550 S. Greenwood Ave.
(773) 702-0200. http://smartmuseum.uchicago.edu

By 1890, a century of occupation and several failed uprisings had impacted Polish culture profoundly, engendering a broad search for a national identity in the arts. Driven by the Mloda Polska (Young Poland) movement, Polish art, literature, architecture and music flourished even as the country remained partitioned under the foreign rule of Russia, Germany and the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Inspired by encounters with foreign art practices, the work of Polish artists responded to the Symbolism and Synthetism of the 1890s, the Cubism of the teens and the Neo-Classicism of the 1920s. With more than 60 paintings, sculptures and drawings, all on loan from the private collection of Tom Podl, The Colors of Identity traces the complex expression of national identity and international perspective that define this critical period of Polish modern art.

	Kenneth Olsen, Assistant Principal Cellist, Chicago Symphony Orchestra

Chicago Chamber Orchestra
Spring Concert Featuring Cellist Kenneth Olsen
8 p.m. Saturday, May 20
Fulton Recital Hall, 4th floor, 1010 E. 59th St.
(773) 702-8069. http://music.uchicago.edu

The University of Chicago Chamber Orchestra concludes its season with a concert that will feature Haydn’s Concerto No. 2 in D Major for Cello and Orchestra, Hob. VIIb:2, and Brahms’ Serenade No. 1 in D Major, Op. 11. For this performance, the Chicago Symphony Orchestra’s newly appointed assistant principal cellist, Kenneth Olsen, joins the ensemble as soloist. A graduate of the Cleveland Institute of Music and a winner of the Institute’s prestigious Concerto Competition, Olsen also garnered first prize in the Nakamichi Cello Competition at the Aspen Music Festival and second prize at the 2002 Holland-America Music Society competition. The concert is free and open to the public; no tickets are required.

	Bill Jones presents The Persistence of Questions

Presidential Fellows in the Arts Program
The Persistence of Questions
7 p.m. Monday, May 22
Court Theatre, 5535 S. Ellis Ave.
(773) 702-8080. http://arts.uchicago.edu

Provocative choreographer and dancer Bill Jones will conclude the 2005-2006 University of Chicago Presidential Fellows in the Arts series on Monday, May 22 at 7 p.m. with a presentation on “The Persistence of Questions.” Jones, who was named an “irreplaceable dance treasure” by the Dance Heritage Coalition, will lead a discussion on the questions that he continues to mull as both an artist and thinker, such as the meaning of the dance company, the nature of style and how the discourse of an era influences a company’s work. Tickets are $15 for general admission, $5 students with I.D.

	Former United States Secretary of State, Madeleine Albright

International House
Former United States Secretary of State, Madeleine Albright
5 p.m. Wednesday, May 17
Assembly Hall, 1414 E. 59th St.
http://internationalstudies.uchicago.edu

International House will host a conversation with former United States Secretary of State, Madeleine Albright. Albright, who served as the 64th Secretary of State under President Bill Clinton, is expected to comment on her new book, The Mighty and the Almighty: Reflections on America, God and the World Affairs. A book signing and reception will follow her remarks. For more information, visit http://internationalstudies.uchicago.edu. Co-sponsored by the Chicago Theological Seminary and the World Beyond the Headlines Series - A collaborative project of the Center for International Studies, the International House Global Voices Program, the Chicago Council on Foreign Relations and the Seminary Co-op Bookstore.